Salvation of the Beast
by Ryth76
Summary: After Gaara possesses the sand after his untimely death, Naruto struggles to save him from a cursed afterlife, but soon finds not all is as it seems. 5-yr timeskip. ON PERMANENT HIATUS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.
1. Ad invito

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and I do not profit from writing this._

**A/N: This is an edit. I forgot to change the first chapter when I ran into my pairing problems. Also updated the title :)**

**Warning: **Story contains crack pairings, angst, character death, and Naruto-fied Japanese folklore.

**Pairings: **Uncertain. Shounen-ai (NOT yaoi) and het both possible at this time.

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**Salvation of the Beast**

**Chapter One: **_**Ab invito**_

Wind whipped across the otherwise still landscape, melting dunes and reshaping them elsewhere. Stars winked overhead, gleaming brightly in the icy gloom. Sand shifted in a swirling pool as though of a life of its own, then seeking tendrils whipped out. Overhead, massive cliffs made by the work of hundreds of construction workers stood proudly. There were no guards standing on the walls nowadays. Every once in a while, a team of four ninjas rushed out and the sand stilled, letting them pass.

Naruto breathed in the scent of the desert. He had come to love the place, though the gritty sand scratched at his eyes and the inside of his nose. The twenty-year-old smiled slightly at the bittersweet sense he felt looking at the maelstrom of sand. It would be lethally foolish for any other ninja not from these parts to approach the village without a pass, but the sand knew him and would even protect him from the sandstorms that frequented these parts. The man who had possessed the sand after death and chose to continue protecting the village would never let the desert hurt Naruto.

The spirit once known as Sabaku no Gaara, the Fifth Kazekage of Sunagakure, shifted restlessly, sensing the young Jounin's approach. The sand spirit stilled, then rose into a pillar, layers bending and compacting into a simulation of flesh, hair, and cloth. The last of live sand wrapped over the figure of a teenager to form the famed Kazekage robes before color returned to the sandstone effigy. Rather than turning pale blue, the black-rimmed eyes glowed an eerie yellow, resembling the Shukaku's eyes only without pupils, marking Gaara's existence as a Jikininki. Eyelids that appeared to be chakra-burnt closed for a moment.

Naruto feared ghosts, but made his dead fellow Jinchuuriki an exception. It did help that he knew this particular self-made Jikininki, though he had little knowledge of how Gaara _was_. He had been advised to bring grave offerings for hungry ghosts and show Gaara the same respect as to the living since Gaara's case was a bit unusual for anyone living or dead.

He had been told that the villagers came every seventh and ninth hour to pay respect to the Kazekage who had chosen the suffering of an ever hungry Jikininki over resting in peace. It was ten minutes till nine. Naruto sat down, unsure what to do.

_**-Naruto…-**_ Naruto started. The voice sounded like hissing sand, but he could hear his friend's voice in the background, now hollow and distant. No longer the voice of the living. Gaara opened his eyes slowly to stare blankly at him with a fierce hunger in his glowing eyes. After a moment, he asked, _**-Did you bring offerings?-**_

Naruto nodded. Gaara smiled, and a look of intense relief passed over his face. _**-It's been so long… thousands of years…. since my last meal.-**_

A stone dropped in Naruto's stomach. He forced a smile, slipping his hand into his weapon pouch and withdrawing a scroll. "It's okay if you go ahead and eat it, isn't it?"

Gaara gave a simple nod. There was a poof and the box of cooked chicken liver that Naruto had put in his refrigerator for summoning sat on top of the scroll. He handed it to his famished comrade. Gaara tore through the box ravenously, not bothering with chewing since he was made of sand. He swallowed the box last, then sat down with a sigh. _**-Thank you, Naruto.-**_

Naruto grinned forcibly. He sat down next to the possessed sand. "No problem."

There was a silence, the two friends content to be near each other. A yellow eye peered at Naruto sideways. _**-You weren't surprised.-**_

Naruto nodded. "I had been warned about how time passes."

_**-Who told you?-**_ The eye narrowed. _**-It was no one's business to tell you.-**_

Naruto pretended to be interested in the stars twinkling above them. Before Kankuro had asked for his help, he had imagined Gaara waiting around as a shapeless pool of sand waiting to defend his precious people, while the people came by to bring him paperwork and ink for the Kazekage. Gaara had asked that they not tell him.

Naruto lied quietly, "I knew when I saw your eyes." It was true that Gaara's cursed eyes confirmed his Jikininki state, but few actually knew anything about Jikininki. The blond met those eyes, and held their gaze for a moment. He continued, "I also know, after the segaki, you'll go back to the Underworld."

The eye closed, annoyed. _**-Why did you come here?-**_

Naruto hesitated. He could hear the priests and monks approaching. _**-Wait a moment- **_Gaara said from beside him. Naruto took a step back to allow them to pass, bowing. The holy men bowed in return. Gaara collapsed back into a pool of sand which rose out of the ground like a massive pillar. Naruto's mouth dropped in shock. So much for a somewhat big puddle of swirling sand. Gaara was more like a smaller version of Shukaku. Gaara had possessed as much sand as he could control with his full power and had steadily become more powerful as the years went by, running on spirit and sage energy since he couldn't use physical energy that a human had. Since his spirit energy and his physical energy were automatically mixed as chakra throughout his earthy body, Gaara was all chakra, sand, and claws. A chakra beast….

The massive sand-wolf rested its head on its deadly paws, brushing Naruto's shoulder with his snout. Naruto couldn't stop himself from shaking. A Bijuu? Gaara had made himself a Bijuu? He looked past Gaara's shoulders and rump. The deceased Kazekage had no tail. Perhaps no one would attempt to seal him to make a Jinchuuriki out of some unlucky child… Besides, Bijuu were made strictly from chakra and perhaps a ghost like the Shukaku, but not an actual element.

The priests set a makeshift altar table before the wolf and began to chant dharani as Temari and Kankuro stepped forward, water and incense in their hands. Gaara turned his head to them, but neither spoke. Segaki was done with silence, prayers, and chants. The deceased's siblings placed their food offerings on the altar. Gaara bowed his wolf head in gratitude and ate what must have been a mere crumb for him as they returned the gesture.

Kankuro cracked a smile at Naruto as he bowed in greeting, but Temari couldn't look him in the face. Naruto wondered if she blamed him for Gaara's death. His team had been the one sent to save him, but they had only been able to break him free of the technique, too late to stop him from dying.

But, no, Temari would never blame anyone like that. Naruto had been there for Gaara in his last minutes. He had given Gaara the chance to perform the ritual that would redirect his spirit to sand after death. If they had been a moment later, Gaara would've been gone forever since he had only finished the technique the day the Akatsuki captured him. He had planned on using the technique the next day, but things hadn't gone his way.

Did she know Kankuro had told him about Gaara's situation? Naruto reached out to touch the wolf's snout automatically. Gaara blinked and turned his head slightly to press against the young Jounin's body. Naruto dug his fingers into the sand. _I will definitely save you this time… I failed you twice. I won't do it again!_

The last of the offerings were placed on the altar, then two elderly men in robes placed a thin stack of papers on the altar with a stamp and a small jar of ink. "Kazekage-sama, these are the urgent documents Suna has received today. We would've signed them ourselves, but they want your approval specifically."

Sand pulled from the sand and once again formed into the deceased sand-user. The eyes of the wolf dulled as the eyes of the figure lit up. _**-I understand. You may leave, Elder Arata… Elder Masaki. Naruto will take them to you when I'm done…– **_He looked at Naruto expectantly. Naruto nodded.

The two Elders nodded and bid Gaara goodnight with a bow. Temari and Kankuro hesitated before following the rest of the villagers. Gaara dipped thin tentacles of sand into the ink and began to read and write. The wolf form stayed where it was. Naruto gulped. "Gaara… what is that?"

_**-The body that comes easiest to me… My new body. I only appear as I once was in the Underworld. In the land of the living, I can break off a section of it to form my human body and compress the wolf underground, but they must be joined together in some way at all times,– **_the possessed suna bunshin said, stamping an article. _**-Or else the human form of mine would be nothing more than puppet.-**_

Naruto considered pointing out that it did look like a puppet held by the giant wolf, connected by threads of chakra embedded sand, but realization suddenly dawned on him. Gaara was never this chatty around him. The Shukaku-host would speak his mind around Lee and Kankuro, but he was always quiet around Naruto, not even to explain his special abilities. Almost avoiding him.

Because of his guilt over living a happy and fulfilling life while Gaara suffered, Naruto had imagined Gaara hated and resented him for his happiness. It had been easy to explain away Gaara's silence whenever they were near each other. But…

_[Naruto rushed at Gaara, desperately trying to catch his fall. Gaara landed hard on the ground. He lay still, then a shudder ran through his body and he stared with glazed eyes up into darkness. Naruto halted. "Gaara!"_

_At Naruto's voice, Gaara's head slowly turned. A small smile brightened Gaara's normally stoic face, softening his dimming aquamarine eyes. "Naruto…" He mouthed from where he had fallen broken and dying after the torturous extraction technique had been dispelled. "Thank you…"]_

Gaara talking to him so freely could only mean he was troubled by something. There was no reason to take his time in telling him why exactly he came all this way from Konoha.

"I'm here to save you. This time I won't fail! I will save you, Gaara, even if it kills me!"

Gaara's eyes widened, then he reverted back to his old impassive self. _**-It's doesn't really matter one way or the other. As long as I'm here to protect my village, it doesn't matter.-**_

"What are you saying? It does matter! Do you want to be sealed away in some unlucky ninja to be used as a trump card?"

_**-… It simply won't happen. I can go as deep and far into the earth as I please, and control vast amounts of sand from below. And if I can't escape, I'll kill myself-**_

"You're already dead!"

_**-There are ways to kill the human spirit, Naruto-**_

A chill ran down Naruto's spine at the dismissive way Gaara mentioned it. "Gaara, you can't do that!"

_**-No, I can't. I don't know how to kill the human spirit. But, if I did know, why not? It's my duty as Kazekage to protect the village at all costs, isn't it?- **_Gaara said.

_This village… _Naruto thought, swallowing down the rage he had held toward the Sand village all these years. No one came to visit Gaara except during certain hours of the day, millennia for Gaara. And when they did, they never talked or asked how he was doing. Only Kankuro and Temari had spoken to him, but only once before the Elders forbade anyone from talking to him or even to face him except for segaki. They all left him to suffer alone after he had sacrificed his life and happiness, had chosen to be Jikininki and hell-cursed forever rather than to rest in peace… just to protect them. Even offering to destroy his own soul to protect them, if need be. He had already given so much, and had never once complained or asked for anything in return, despite his secret wish that Naruto and those closest to him knew, yet they didn't care at all. They hadn't even built a statue for the Godaime Kazekage, after all these years… _I'll never forgive them…._

"What's wrong with you?! This village _hates_ you! They'll always hate you, and do you know why?! Because they are heartless leeches sucking your life away! I wanted to believe they would one day acknowledge and love you, but it isn't going to happen. They won't be satisfied until you're gone for good! They're just using you, giving lip service while they cringe in terror and revulsion behind you! Why are you letting them use you like this, to this extent? You could've had a whole life ahead of you! You could've lived! Why, Gaara?!"

_**-You don't understand– **_Gaara replied, coldly._** -When we fought and you led me to the light, I only wanted to find something to protect and love. I never once believed I could be loved in return. If they do hate me, does it really matter?-**_

"Is that really what you believe, Gaara?" Naruto asked quietly.

There was silence. The sand clone collapsed with a hiss to the ground. _**-I've completed all documents. Take them to the Elders, please-**_ Sand shoved the documents into Naruto's arms.

"Oi! I'm not through with you yet; I still need to tell you why I came!"

_**-Not interested-**_

:::

_Not interested… _

That had been the first thing Gaara had ever said to Naruto. Back then he had been only twelve and a very different person. A person ruined by loneliness and fear. A violent, suspicious and hateful person who only smiled while thinking of blood and death. Naruto had hoped when he heard that Gaara was Kazekage that he was no longer alone as he was when they first crossed paths. Naruto realized that wasn't the case when he saw the Kazekage's picture, as they rested as Sakura rushed to save Kankuro's life. His eyes were just as sad and lonely as when they were Genin. Peaceful and warm, but sad.

Naruto had wanted to save Gaara not only from certain death, but to make a second attempt to save Gaara from his loneliness once and for all. His attempt ended in death and heartbreak. He briefly saw Gaara's humanoid sand form before heading back to Konoha to pursue Sasuke, but no words passed between the two Jinchuuriki.

Naruto tightened his grip on the documents, charging through the streets. Every second, he knew, counted years for Gaara if he had slipped back into the other world. How many years have passed by for Gaara? Naruto all but tossed the documents on to the Kazekage's desk, then turned and darted back through the village to the gates.

Two minutes. That was all it took. Only two hundred forty seconds. So many years… Maybe even a thousand years… Naruto rushed up to the sand, now a swirling puddle on the ground again. "Gaara!" He roared.

The human form of the dead Kazekage rose from the sand. _**-Calm down, Naruto. I'm still here-**_

Naruto put a hand on a sandy shoulder. After a moment, he gave a sigh of relief. "Gaara, you're okay…"

_**-You took a long time-**_

Naruto pursed his lips for a second. "Well, that is… I tried my best!" He scratched the back of his head. "I got the documents to your office. No one was there, but I was a little worried."

_**-Ah…- **_There was a pause. _**-Why did you come here?-**_

"Someone requested my help. They want me to find a way to bring you back." Naruto withdrew his hand from the sandpapery shoulder. He studied his palm. A grain of sand lay on a fingertip. "I want things to go back to the way they were, at least for us."

Gaara's eyes widened. He resumed his impassive gaze. _**-Us?-**_

"You never even had a chance. Three years down the right path and _wham!_ You're stuck between being the new Shukaku and the afterlife, before you even get a chance to feel needed. Two years later, and nothing has changed. I want to fight that. You would be twenty now…. Twenty years of pain and loneliness and misery. Is all this really worth it?"

Gaara remained silent. Naruto smirked. They knew each other all too well for him to lie.

_**-What do you have in mind?-**_

"Leave Suna."

_**-I can't do that-**_

"Elect a new Kazekage! They need to move on, and _you_ need to move on."

_**-…- **_Gaara appeared to be thinking it over. He shook his head. _**-I'm happy here. They have always feared me, but they **_**need**_** me.-**_

"Your powers. I need _you_. We need each other."

_**-Naruto…- **_It appeared Gaara wanted to say something, but changed his mind. After a tense moment of silence, sand curled around Naruto's hand. _**-You have been doing fine these past five years without me. There's no reason for you to––-**_

Naruto shook his head. "I spent most of that time looking for Sasuke and trying to find a way to save you. I haven't really thought about being Hokage since…"

Gaara looked surprised. _**-But … you did save me. I didn't lose everything.-**_

_["Uzumaki Naruto… I… It's Gaara… He…"]_

Naruto swallowed. "Is that really true? Is that really what you think, Gaara?"

_["… Became a Jikininki…"]_

Gaara looked away, silent. Naruto swallowed bile. "Oi… Do you really believe that?"

_**-… I don't know-**_

Gaara appeared to be thinking back on some distant memory. -_**I can't remember…-**_

Naruto stared in disbelief. "You can't remember?"

_**-It's been hundreds of millennia for me… An eternity. I can't remember every little thing…-**_

"Do you remember how we met?"

_**-We met… during an exam (or was it a tournament?) We were enemies. I took pleasure in the pain of others. Killing them. I changed because… because of you. I… wanted to be like you. It was… in a forest… I can't remember where… was it at that one forest? The forest of… despair? Darkness? Desolation? Ah. I think it's coming back to me… The forest of death… Kankuro and Temari didn't want me to attack anyone else after I killed a team of Rain ninjas… I must've ignored them-**_

Naruto's stomach went cold. "Yes. I mean, no, no. We didn't fight there. The forest of death was the second exam in the Chuunin Exam. We fought in a forest, but not then. I mean, we fought later when Sound and Sand attacked Konoha."

_**-Our villages… were enemies? I didn't just go insane?-**_

"Well, no. Maybe a little. Our villages fought. Suna was tricked."

_**-Orochimaru… That guy. Long hair? Marks on his face? Bone techniques? Pale face, pale eyes… -**_

"That was one of his lackeys. Orochimaru had long dark hair and snake techniques. He killed your father and the Third Hokage, remember?"

_**-Yes, I remember now. Thank you.- **_Gaara grimaced as if suffering sudden headache he was too polite to groan about. _**-I'm being called back to the other world. Wait here. I'll be back soon-**_

The sand collapsed on itself, sending a ripple through the desert. Naruto slipped a hand in his waist pouch and counted, _One… Two… Three…

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**A/N: Well, what do you think?  
**

**These are some terms used in Salvation of the Beast Please note that I am not an expert on Latin, Japanese language, Japanese mythology, or Buddhist beliefs. If I have made any errors, please let me know. Nicely, of course.**

_Shi to Suna no Ookami_ – Wolf of Death and Sand. Literally, Death and Sand's wolf. The previous title of this fanfiction.

_Ab invito –_ Against the will; unwillingly

_Jikininki –_ a kind of hungry ghost in Japanese mythology. A hungry ghost is a ghost that is cursed to always be hungry and never be full. It doesn't sound that bad, but imagine an eternity of hunger. That's bad. Gaara is somewhat different from the actual mythological ghost. Such as the reasons for him being cursed into a Jikininki.

_Segaki – _a Japanese day of the dead where the living offer food to spirits, including Jikininki and other unlucky spirits.

_Dharani – _Buddhist chants. It's related to mantra ("Om") but is used in esoteric and exoteric rituals, such as a segaki ritual.

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**Next: Alea iacta est **_(the die is cast)_


	2. Alea iacta est

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Naruto belongs to Kishimoto, Viz Media, and Shounen Jump. I do not profit from this.  
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**A/N: _This is a resend. The third chapter has changed, so I have removed the preview at the bottom. It was cute, but kinda misleading and the title didn't fit. I was going to add more information at the bottom about hungry ghosts and Shinto beliefs about the underworld, but I ended up not doing that._  
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**Chapter Two: _Alea Iacta Est_ **

Gaara could hear screaming. _They_ were always screaming in the southwestern side. That's where the hell pits were. Gaara supposed he should be grateful that he was only stuck in a temporary purgatory state with some freedom to move in the living world. He wasn't feeling thankful at the moment, though. He wanted to continue talking to Naruto. He wondered how long they would keep him down this time, starving and hanging upside down from the cave like a bat helplessly

Blood roared in his ears and he could feel his face flushing from gravity pulling blood down to his head. His vision blurred and he grew faint. His eyes closed tightly. He opened them, then blinked. Someone was observing him. Someone that looked suspiciously like the blond bomber who had captured and killed him.

"_You_, hm?" The dead Akatsuki said, smirking. "So you're the one I was sent to speak with, hm."

This wasn't what the Jikininki had expected to hear. He had expected more Jikininki torture as he awaited the end of his partial imprisonment. He narrowed his eyes. The Kami would only send a message if it was important, or painful. Gaara braced himself, waiting. He gave a start, not believing quite what he heard when Deidara spoke at last.

"There's been a change of plans."

_What? _Gaara started. They were toying with him. Or else had listened in on his conversation with Naruto and realized he might escape… He pursed his lips and studied Deidara's devious face. _Seven years of the living… That was the sentence. I have two years left now. It's a little late to change their minds, so that should be the same as before. So what is it? What are they thinking? _ "What change of plans?" He asked, calmly through the thunder of blood rushing.

:::

Naruto counted. _One… Two… Three… Four… Five…_

"Forget it, Naruto. They won't let him return for a couple of hours." He heard Kankuro beside him. Naruto looked at him. Kankuro looked much the same as always, except his face appeared tightly drawn and he had no face paint.

"A couple of hours?" Wind blew through the loosened sand, now freed from Gaara's spirit.

"We need to talk. If you're going to try to help Gaara, there's some things you must know. Let's go somewhere more private."

A sharp gust threw sand into the sky. Naruto nodded slowly and took a deep breath. "Okay."

Kankuro turned and began to walk away from the village. Perplexed, Naruto followed him silently. It wasn't until they were about a mile from the village and had stopped before three sand blasted rocks that leaned against each other to create a small shelter against the wind that Kankuro spoke. "I think it will be important for you to know what nature of Jikininki Gaara is."

Naruto frowned. He thought Kankuro had told him everything beforehand. Yet… Perhaps Kankuro had learned something new about Gaara's tragic circumstances. The puppeteer looked troubled and hesitated for a moment. "When Gaara first possessed the sand, he said _-seven years…- _ He was shaking and unable to stand. He looked devastated. He refused to tell us more. I spent time at the Wind Temple and in the archives of Suna, hoping to find answers."

Kankuro turned his head to watch the haze of sand floating on the breeze. "There are two normal kinds of hungry ghosts."

_Normal? _Naruto held his tongue. Was Gaara different somehow? Was it because of the technique he used?

Kankuro continued, "The Gaki, which wander in the desert, and the Jikininki, the corpse-eaters. The village elders have given Gaara the title of Jikininki, but this is incorrect. For reasons unknown to us, he's neither a Gaki spirit nor a true Jikininki. He's something different."

He sat down. "According to legend, true Jikininki are really Rasetsuten, demons who may or may not have been wicked men at one time. They are made of pure chakra, like the tailed-beasts, but far weaker. They have beastly poisonous claws, glowing eyes, and are known to be shape-shifters that sometimes possessed human beings."

Naruto wondered where Kankuro was going with this. It hardly mattered. Gaara's brother looked him in the eye. "The Shukaku was once a priest of the Sand, according to legend. I believe he became a Jikininki after death."

Naruto shook his head. "What? That's crazy! The Shukaku is the one-tail Bijuu, nothing more than a ball of evil chakra. If he was once a priest, he'd have a soul."

"Listen, Jikininki are renown for their love of violence and chaos. Doesn't that sound familiar? Doesn't the description of how they look sound like the Shukaku?"

"Well… Yeah… But what does that have to do with Gaara?" In an instant, Naruto knew. _The wolf… _He stared at Kankuro, who nodded.

"That's right. Gaara's Ookami form is still tailless for now, but a stump began to form not long after I sent my message to you.

"Gaara is becoming another Bijuu."

Something in Naruto flared at this insult to the friend who had literally died in his arms, who suffered the same pain of loneliness he had felt… "How can you _say_ that?!" The Kyuubi's chakra boiled deep inside him. Naruto forced it back. He was with an ally, not an enemy. No matter what Kankuro said, he couldn't attack him with the Kyuubi.

"Naruto, listen to me! When Gaara first appeared the way he is now, he said something about seven years. It's been five years. There's only two more years before the tail of the Ookami is completed. Before that happens, the real Gaara will return to the land of the dead for good. I'm afraid someone else would have learned this. You must get him out of Sunagakure. There are still those who would use his powers to make a new Jinchuuriki. If that happens, Gaara would never be able to find peace."

Naruto stared at the normally relaxed and confident puppet master. Kankuro was tense, sweating. Naruto forced a grin on his face. "You worry too much. Gaara seems rather keen on staying here, but I will find a way to reach him. No matter what, he's coming back to Konoha with me!"

Kankuro studied his face. Naruto held the grin on his face, shifting in discomfort for a moment. The puppeteer looked away. "You know, you are a very important person to Gaara. You were the first person to truly acknowledge his suffering. I'm sure he's thinking it over right now. There might be no need to put up a fight."

:::

Naruto sat in silence at the gates of Suna. The sand was shifting again as Gaara's chakra and soul returned to it. The giant Ookami all but leaped out from the ground, howling. It sat still as though waiting for the rest of it to follow. Naruto shivered as he looked upon it again. _Gaara… a Bijuu…_

He shook his head. _No! Kankuro has to be wrong! That would be too cruel… _

Gaara appeared before him, pale and looking somewhat ill. He collapsed as though drained of energy. Naruto offered the onigiri remaining in his pack.

Gaara didn't move, but a mouth made of sand engulfed the wrapped snack. Naruto frowned. "Gaara, you okay?"

_**-I'm fine. It hurts a little moving back and forth between dimensions-**_

Gaara was quiet for a moment. He looked up at the waning moon. _**-I have some good news. I'll tell you once the second segaki is performed-**_

For the first time, Naruto wondered. He hadn't thought of it before, but after Kankuro explained the two kinds of hungry ghosts, he realized it. Segaki was performed for Gaki, not Jikininki, and only on certain days of the year. The same ritual was performed for Gaara, who had been called a Jikininki, twice a day. Was this because Gaara had been Kazekage, or because it was already known that Gaara had the potential to be the downfall of the entire village?

_The villagers haven't even made a statue in his honor. Having a Kazekage become a Jikininki is a disgrace to them… _Naruto mused to himself. That left only one option: they already knew the truth. It all came down to an attempt to tame the Bijuu before it completed transformation.

Baki would roll in his grave. Baki had been severe and had an irritating habit of worrying, but he had honestly cared for Gaara and his siblings. He never would have done these things like the other elders and former advisors. He would have pressed for Gaara's rights as Kazekage. Naruto missed him.

Naruto could see the priests and the elders making their nightly procession, carrying incense and candles, joined only by Gaara's siblings. Gaara withdrew into the Ookami, solemnly overlooking the horde.

"Won't you join us?" One elder whispered in Naruto's ear. Naruto shook his head. There was no way he would disgrace Gaara by this ritualistic groveling over the Ookami. The elder shrugged and continued chanting.

Naruto withdrew from the midst of the gathering and sat down on the sand. He shivered. The temperature had dropped so that it was now freezing. Mist rose in front of his face with each exhale. Was it cold having no flesh and bone?

_I shouldn't think of such things… _ Gaara had appeared fine. A large quantity of sand should retain the heat well. After all, during a boiling day, sand stayed cool…_ Is sand always that cold deep inside the ground? _Naruto imagined Gaara shivering somewhere deep inside the sand, unable to be warm… forever cold.

The procession withdrew and Gaara was left alone. Always alone. Naruto pushed his angry and bitter feelings toward Suna aside. What was more important was to help his friends and his fellow Jinchuuriki. Gaara said he had good news. Naruto could definitely use some.

Gaara wasted no time._** -The Kami have given you one year to find a way to bring me back-**_

"Huh?" Naruto gaped at him. If the spirit-gods decided that, it must be because his passion, power, and determination – or perhaps Gaara's – had impressed them. Incredible! He pounded his fists in the air. "All right! One year; I'll definitely save you by then!" But only a year? Could he do it? He stopped. "Wait... just a year? Why only a year?"

_**-I… don't know. That's the bad part. If you can't bring me back in ten months, I don't want to see you again. Ever-**_

Naruto's elation fell flat. "What?"

Gaara looked away. _**-Kankuro told you, didn't he? The Ookami…-**_

"Yes, he told me, but…"

_**-My puni – the transformation will complete in a year. I don't want to you to see me then… I'll give you ten months. If you can't bring me back, promise me you'll go away-**_

Naruto studied Gaara's face, but the shadows made it hard to detect Gaara's expression. "Transformation? Why do I have the feeling you aren't being completely honest with me?"

_**-I am honest. I don't want you to keep trying when ten months have passed. Before this year ends, things will only get worse. I don't have much time…-**_

"What do you mean? Even if a year passes and I haven't brought you back, I'll find a way to bring you back without the consent of the dead. Even if you become a Bijuu, I'll never give up."

_**-No- **_Gaara answered, bluntly. **_-If a year passes, you won't remember me.-_**

Naruto was taken aback. How could he forget Gaara? The creepy, frightening kid Gaara had been as a child… the socially inept Gaara feverishly fighting to change his ways… the Kazekage Gaara who had died in his lap when he had been too weak and too slow… How could he forget his fellow Jinchuuriki? He stood out in Naruto's mind as someone who had gone through the same loneliness as him. The first other Jinchuuriki he ever met. "What? Of course, I'll remember you! You are my comrade!"

Gaara was silent for a moment. _**-Naruto, am I really that important to you?-**_

"Yes! I never abandon my friends, no matter what!" Naruto snapped back.

_**-Then abandon me when ten months have passed. At least promise me that much-**_

"I can't do that. You know I can't. I'll never give up. This time, you will be saved." Naruto couldn't believe what his old ally was saying. He could never leave Gaara to suffer alone intentionally. Gaara was quiet for a moment.

_**-**_**I**_** will be saved, Naruto?- **_Gaara's question sounded innocent enough, but his stress on 'I' and his sad tone was painful, as though he already knew the answer to the question. It sounded much like Gaara's cry as Naruto inched his way toward the defeated twelve-year-old. _My existence will not end! I will not let it! Will I be saved?! _ Gaara had watched everyone else being saved, protected, and cheered on by his friends. When he had been defeated by Naruto, he had insisted he could still protect his own existence. Because no one else would come to save him.

Naruto couldn't stand that plaintive tone, as though Gaara had already written himself off because he couldn't save himself. "Gaara, don't talk like that. You _will_ be saved. I'll definitely save you, this time. If it makes you feel better, within ten months, you will be sitting in your Kazekage office again, drinking green tea and looking over your cacti. If not, I'll leave you alone. I promise you."

_**-…- **_Naruto could practically hear Gaara's skepticism. **_-Really, Naruto?-_**

He had been seen through. Naruto decided to be brazenly honest. "… I will definitely save you before then. There's no way I'll even have to fulfill my promise to abandon you!"

_**-Don't make promises you don't intend to keep…-**_

"Then I promise I won't have to fulfill my promise to abandon you!"

_**-… I already talked to the elders. They were unhappy, but there's nothing they can do to stop me. Let's go-**_

"Eh? Already?"

_**-It's best for you to travel at night when the desert's cold. If it's too cold, you can take shelter in the Ookami-**_

_Shelter in the Ookami? _Naruto didn't like the sound of that. It sounded like being enclosed in the Kyuubi. "No, I'm fine with traveling at night. Thanks for the suggestion, though…"

_**-Don't mention it-**_

:::

Gaara hadn't been able to tell Naruto that he was wrong. He had went along with the lie – no, the half-truth – that he would turn into a tailed beast. The lie had been the Kami's role. They would never let Naruto save him. Even now, they hadn't hurt them only because they knew Gaara simply couldn't be saved.

Gaara had made the bargain with Naruto out of pure selfishness. He hadn't been able to stop himself. When he first said 'good news' to Naruto, he had planned on telling Naruto that the Kami said he would be allowed into heaven once a year was over, and he would vanish from the land of the living, leaving the Ookami to protect the village in his stead.

But…

_[__**::… forever …::] **_

His own selfish desire had gotten hold of his tongue. He could do nothing but lie through his teeth that the Kami had given him a chance. Somewhere, deep inside, he hadn't yet accepted there was nothing to be done.

Now he was merely using Naruto to play one last game of 'Hope.' He was shameless.

At the twinge of pain in his chest, Gaara clutched a hand to where his heart would have been, willing his sense of sadness and regret away. He didn't realize he had stopped until Naruto stopped and turned to him.

"Gaara? Are you okay?"

How could he let himself show Naruto his true side? Gaara looked into Naruto's concerned face. He still felt amazed that anyone, especially Naruto, could actually care. It took a moment to find the perfect excuse. _**-I'm fine. Just a little hungry-**_

Naruto frowned. It took three minutes for him to panic. "Ah! I'm sorry, Gaara! I didn't realize…"

Inwardly, Gaara gave a sigh of relief. Naruto panicking over forgetting Gaara was a hungry ghost was better than a Naruto who knew he couldn't keep his promises this time. Naruto would soon learn, but Gaara was in no rush to tell him.

The die had been cast, but the die was blank.

* * *

**A/N: _Ahh... Gaara's hopeless. Well, this chapter came out earlier than I thought it would..._**

**Glossary:**

_Alea iacta est _- the die is cast

_**Not as many terms needed to be translated... I guess I should add a little more about hungry ghosts in Japanese legend, but I'm not sure what's lacking... Some things are changed from real Japanese myth, but surprisingly little. You can read about the real Japanese myth of hungry ghosts through a Google search, Youtube (there was a nice video on Segaki), and Wikipedia. Or at the library. Not that you'd probably do that over a fanfic, but I'm not good at explaining things... I might try to rewrite a bit of this chapter. It didn't quite reach my expectations, honestly...**_

_**It is important to note that certain Jikininki are considered Gaki in real life and Segaki is performed for them, unlike what Naruto noted earlier in this story. This story changes that to where Jikininki is a completely different kind of hungry ghost than Gaki. Same with certain details about Jikininki (like eating their hosts' minds) are also changed from the real folklore. Any mention of chakra and hungry ghosts is obviously not from the real legends and myths.**_

_**On another note, there will be (possibly) be pairings later. I am removing what I said about pairings here because things have changed a bit. You'll just have to wait and see. I'll update my profile on the subject of pairings to help clear the air.**_

**Next:**** Confiteor**


	3. Confiteor

**A/N: This chapter is notably shorter than the other two. It does get several plotlines started though. Like I said in my profile, _the pairings did not work out._ ****Some might still be there, but some died in this chapter (though it is possible that they are just at a bad time in their relationship)  
**

_**

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**Chapter Three: **_**Confiteor**__  
_

"So Kankuro-san and Temari-san finally got their wish, huh?"

"Hush! What if Akari-sama heard you?"

"… I think it's safe for now… " The silence within the guard tower was stifling. It was another moment before: "I'm surprised you and Mikoshi didn't go after him. You two used to always go on about Gaara-sama, right?" The Jounin Sand ninja gazed after the long vanished Naruto and Gaara.

"Shut up," muttered the short haired girl, fingering her prized Jyouhou. "Things change, Ittetsu. I don't love that person anymore…"

"Do you really believe that, Matsuri?"

Matsuri refused to answer. Ittetsu leaned against the wall. "Did something happen between you and Kankuro-san that day?"

"No." The tone was too short and the word to quick. As though she was trying to lie to herself. "Nothing happened between us. Kankuro-san just said some things I needed to hear." She looked out over the desert. "That's all that happened."

Ittetsu shrugged. "If you say so. Do you mind checking on Mikoshi? I haven't heard anything from her since she went to bathroom an hour ago…" He trailed off.

Matsuri sat up abruptly. "I was just in there five minutes ago!"

:::

"Are you sure about this?" Naruto frowned down at the seal scroll.

_**-Yes, I'm sure. The only sand I can possess is the sand I first came into. If you use this scroll, you should be able to summon my sand, and me, wherever you are- **_Gaara replied. He looked up at the brightening sky. _-I'm not supposed to be in the world of the living for a long time like this…-_

Was it him, or was the Leaf ninja looking rather pensive? "I guess it'll work…"

_**-Good. I'll follow after you when I come back-**_

_:::_

"Ah! Shikamaru-san!"

The dark-haired Jounin turned around. The deceptively cheery kunoichi flounced over to his side, a skip in her step and a package in her arms. Her long pink hair had darkened into a slightly red tone and swished side to side as she hurried over to hand him the package. Shikamaru tapped the cigarette in his hand. Ash floated down onto the road. He greeted the pink woman, "Sakura."

She wasted no time. "Have you seen him? Naruto's back!"

Shikamaru furrowed his brow, unsure why she was telling him of all people. "Shouldn't you be telling Sasuke this?"

Sakura flinched. Even though Sasuke had come back years ago, he might as well have been living on the moon. The relationships of Team Seven remained stressed to the breaking point. Most of the ninja in Konoha hadn't yet forgiven Sasuke and Sasuke had little to do with his old team. It seemed he had already developed too strong a bond with the team he built while estranged from Konoha. Except for his former team, everyone else had to deal with his icy silence. It continued to cause Sakura no little pain to see Sasuke's face soften whenever he talked to that insufferable redheaded kunoichi he brought to Konoha with him. Shikamaru didn't even understand why Sasuke even liked Karin. She seemed even more clingy and desperate than all the Konoha girls put together.

Sakura cleared her throat. "He could probably care less," she answered breezily. "It's only Naruto-baka after all."

Shikamaru sighed, cigarette smoke escaping his mouth from the corner. Like most women, she insisted she was fine when she wasn't. Experience had taught him much about women. Mostly what not to do and misconceptions. "What's with the package?"

"It's some documents Suna sent to Kakashi-sama. It's top secret…" her voice trailed off. Like Naruto she seemed occasionally distracted over whatever happened at Suna. For the Suna-Konoha jointed Chuunin Exams, Temari and Kankuro oversaw the events in Gaara's stead. Where the infamous sand manipulator had gone off to was a mystery. Rumors said he had died a few years ago, while others said he was bound permanently to Suna's borders. Whatever that meant. Shikamaru thought it was too worrisome, but Suna shut everyone out whenever the strange sand user was mentioned.

He observed the troubled faced kunoichi. "Sasuke doesn't mind you, you know."

Sakura flushed, dropping the package of documents on the ground. She snapped, "Oh, and you don't go running off whenever Temari's around, I see."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Temari is a very troublesome and frightening woman. You'd run away too, if you were her ex." He extinguished his cigarette. "Who knows? Sasuke might not be serious with her."

"Might not?" Sakura asked, contemptuously. "All they do is hang over each other. Besides, I'm not interested in that person anymore," She ended defiantly.

"Sakura-chan!" A familiar voice yelled. "Shikamaru!" Naruto ran up to them. He appeared out of breath. His blond hair was tousled and dirty. He hadn't washed during his stay at Suna, apparently. He stank something awful. He had the biggest grin on his face, but his eyes looked exhausted.

"I'm _starving_!" He exclaimed, almost comically bright, before passing out in front of them.

:::

_Ichiraku Ramen… Ichiraku Ramen… _Naruto sang to himself in his mind. Gaara's sand stirred beneath his stool, hidden from view. Shikamaru eyed the growing tower of bowls skeptically. Normally, when Naruto ate, he had a limit of one stack of bowls, yet he was on his third stack, devouring servings in one gulp. Ayame and Teuchi looked perplexed to Naruto's appetite.

Shikamaru gave an exasperated sigh, counting the money he was losing by the minute. "You know, this is going to cost me more than I can afford. I was planning on getting a bowl myself, but this is just bothersome…"

Naruto dumped his entire mouthful into a thin platter of sand that brought it down to Gaara. _Are you feeling better, Gaara?_ The sand appeared to be leaving. Naruto took a deep breath and said cheerfully, "Gochisousama deshita!"

Shikamaru grabbed him by the collar. "Oi! At least pay part–" He abruptly fell silent. His eyes narrowed as he looked past Naruto's shoulder. Naruto inhaled faintly. Had he detected Gaara's sand? He blinked and shook his head. Naruto released the breath he had been holding softly. "You, pay half."

Naruto grinned. "Sorry, Shikamaru. I'm broke," he answered. He squirmed out of Shikamaru's grip. "Maybe next time."

:::

_**-Thank you- **_The Jikininki sat down on Naruto's bed, sand circling him. His yellow eyes blinked owlishly at the blond man sitting on the ground with a thoughtful frown.

"It didn't really help, did it?" Naruto asked.

_**-It helped a little- **_Gaara replied. **_-If a little food doesn't help ease a Jikininki's suffering , why the food offerings during O-bon?-_**

"Huh, I didn't think of it that way. I thought Jikininki couldn't eat." What he thought next clung to his throat. He asked slowly, "You mentioned something about a punishment."

Gaara didn't answer.

"There's something else going on, isn't there. You were going to let it slip, but you caught yourself and said another thing, yes? You couldn't say it, could you?"

The undead Kazekage remained silent. Naruto looked at his new picture of Team Seven, unable to look at his former nemesis. "Ne, Gaara, why do some Reikon become Jikininki?"

_**-…- **_Gaara looked away, eyes full of regret. Naruto turned to him. The spirit closed his eyes as though considering how best to explain. They opened. Yellow glowed dully in the sunlit room **_-Listen carefully, Naruto; this is the most important thing I'm going to tell you now. Most spirits become Jikininki when they have lived poorly during life or lived a life of squandering. They are hungry spirits because, in the spirit world, they are not allowed to eat as punishment. They can't die, nor do normal spirits need food. But hungry spirits are not allowed freedom from the need of the living- _**Sand curled around Gaara's ankles, twisting and coiling around the bed and the walls. _**-Usually it's because the punished spirits spent all their time catering to their basic needs beyond necessities, but there is another reason- **_

Naruto leaned forward. "I'm listening. What other reason?"

_**-When a human breaks the cosmic law, the reikon of that person will be condemned to be Jikininki forever-**_

Comprehension dawned on Naruto's face. "What? What law?"

_**-A human must not project their spirit into an unliving substance to gain immortality. If a still living person gains a temporary immortality, he has done no evil… because he will die regardless of his efforts. But a reikon can't die. If a reikon is freed of the flesh so that it won't leave the land of the living forbidden to it, the reikon will be cursed to be a Jikininki forever-**_

"You were punished for sealing yourself in the sand?" Naruto couldn't believe something like that. Gaara had done it for noble, selfless reasons and a desire to protect his village. Surely Kami-sama wouldn't allow it.

_**-Yes. I broke it-**_

Naruto wanted to ask him about the Ookami and if that was also part of the curse. Somehow, he couldn't manage to say it. Somehow, asking someone who used to be a fellow Jinchuuriki if he was turning into a tailed-beast sounded really wrong. Instead, he turned the conversation back to his indignation of how Gaara was treated. "That's so stupid! You wanted to protect Suna; how is that a selfish, squandering attitude?"

_**-I said nothing about the cosmic law having anything to do with any attitude. No matter what reason, no one is allowed to break it. Each time the law is broken, both worlds are damaged. Spirits can never walk in the land of the living nor can the living in the land of the dead. It is the oldest law where I am bound- **_

Naruto lay down on his back with a confused grunt. "I don't get it…" His head swam with everything Gaara had just said. He was too confused now to criticize the gods for hurting Gaara. He didn't understand hardly a word of it. He didn't even quite get all that Kankuro had said a few days ago, except that Gaara was possibly changing in the worst way he could think of.

"Hey, do you have any idea how I can help? I mean, we did leave Suna for this…"

_**-I sent a secret message to Kankuro and Temari to find and send any information they believe can help to Kono–**_

"Tch, why do I have the feeling this is going to be very troublesome?" Shikamaru stood in the doorway, surveying the strange sight before him with a frown, arms crossed and with a cigarette squeezed between his teeth. He looked strikingly like his deceased master, Asuma. At least, this is what anyone would've thought in normal circumstances. Being caught in one's own house with an undead kage was not a normal circumstance.

Naruto jumped to his feet with a strangled gasp of surprise. "Sh-Shikamaru!" Gaara grimaced at the shadow master, displeased at the sudden intrusion.

Shikamaru smirked. "Word of advice, Naruto: if you want to hide a deceased kage at home, make sure you aren't being followed. Oh, and close your door next time..."

* * *

**A/N: This chapter was a bit short, but oh well. I thought the part where Shikamaru busts Naruto and Gaara made a pretty good end.**

**Terms:  
**

_Reikon – _In Shinto, the equivalent of the 'soul' or 'spirit' regardless if it goes on ahead or stays on the earth (though usually it becomes known as something else if that's the case, just like the term 'ghost' in English speaking countries never refers to souls that have moved on).

_Confiteor _- I confess

**Next: **_Edit:_** Pater****  
**


	4. Pater

**A/N: You didn't think I forgot this story, did you? I finished it a bit sooner than I expected. I was going to put in one more scene, but decided against it as I needed to do a little more planning and research for some new characters coming up. I'm not going to say anything else because this story really isn't planned out very well.  
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**Chapter Four: **_**Pater**_

In the forests bordering the great Kaze no Kuni desert, a soft wind stirred in the branches. A leaf twirled downward. A blur rushed past it, crushing it underfoot on a branch so that the leaf left a streak of green goo. The leader of the search team landed with a soft thud on another branch further up ahead. He signaled the others to stop.

Trails of unmistakably dark sand had been left on the ground. The Godaime had always been easy to track when weakened. The ninja narrowed his eyes. Gaara hadn't been weakened when he left, so they couldn't fully trust the trail. He had also been a shrewd survivor, having lived six years with his life on the line as a child, which only made the trail more dubious. However, the sand was heading to the left and Gaara had to have traveled that direction to leave the trail. Then again, there was that Uzumaki Naruto guy with him…

The ninja swore under his breath. "We have to split up. Nabe! Fukui! Take the left path. Okinawa, you're with me."

The three ninjas nodded. "Yes, Ibaraki-sensei!"

As they jumped from tree limb to tree limb, Okinawa cleared his throat. "Sensei? Wouldn't it… make more sense to send a message back to Tsuchino-san's team? You know, one team could go left while the other goes right…"

Ibaraki replied simply, "I don't trust that crippled upstart. When you spend time fighting as a ninja, you learn instinctively who to trust, and who to avoid."

:::

The blond gaped at the dark haired boy standing nonchalantly in his doorway. "Sh-Shikamaru!"

"So that's why everyone was so keyed up about the Kazekage…" The Jounin sighed. "What's so urgent that the Kazekage himself had to sneak into Konoha?"

_What's going on? _Gaara's eyes were wrong. They were… yellow, glowing, and empty. He was nothing more than sand rustling around on the bed. He looked far more disturbing than Shikamaru had ever seen him, except for the time he killed the two Grass shinobi with a crazed gleam in his eyes.

Naruto and Gaara were quiet, unsure what to say. The hiss of sand rippling across the floor broke the silence. Shikamaru mulled over the facts he knew. Kakashi and Gai had been involved in the Kazekage rescue mission five years ago. When they came back, they quietly told Tsunade while he was handing in his own report something that gave her a start and caused him to be swiftly dismissed. When he saw them walk out later, Naruto's eyes were cold and listless above drying tear stains. _Ah…_Shikamaru broke the silence. "You're dead."

Gaara turned his head to look at him owlishly. Shikamaru repeated himself, "You are only a ghost, Sabaku no Gaara. Why are you still here?"

_**-I…- **_Shikamaru felt a chill run down his spine. _That voice… _Gaara fell silent immediately. Naruto glared at the lazy genius and put his foot between him and the dead boy. The gesture encouraged Gaara to continue: _**-Bound myself to this world -**_

"What?" Shikamaru asked sharply, "That's possible?"

Naruto looked as surprised as he was. "What? You mean you never heard of anything like this? But you were the–"

"I'm a strategist, Naruto," Shikamaru corrected him. "I have no interest in this kind of thing. It's too…" He gave Gaara a long hard look. "Troublesome."

_**-How much did you hear?- **_Rivets of sand curled around Gaara's arms and legs. The unearthly yellow eyes stared nearly accusingly at the shadow master.

"Only the bit about the information sent from Suna," Shikamaru conceded. "What is going on? Are the five ninja nations under attack again?"

Naruto started. He shook his head thoughtfully. "Not that I know… Did something happen while I was gone?"

Shikamaru relaxed. "Nothing at all. Why do you want information from Suna?"

Naruto looked at Gaara, his brow creased with concern. "I promised I'll save Gaara in ten months. There isn't much time and I don't know what to do."

Shikamaru's frown deepened. The Kazekage was already dead and beyond saving. The dead stay dead; that is the natural order of things. Surely, Naruto knew this. "Why is that?"

_**-It is a hassle to be hungry all the time and I have no desire to go insane again- **_Gaara's distant voice answered. Naruto's eyes darted to him and his tongue tip ran under his upper lip. His eyes were wary as though noting a lie. Shikamaru wondered just how much truth was in Gaara's words. The Kazekage never minced words and rarely lied outright, unless out of necessity. Gaara leaned forward. **_-Shikamaru, is it? I thought you were killed by the Akatsuki's Hidan…-_**

"You have me confused with Asuma. Do I look like Asuma to you?" Shikamaru's annoyance didn't run deep. Inwardly, he would've loved to have been confused with the Sandaime's son, despite what a drag that would be after a while. It had only been five years, though, and Gaara had impeccable memory, or used to. Temari had boasted once that Baki had made sure to insist Sunagakure's leaders tested him on it. Was this part of death? Forgetfulness?

_**-You're smoking- **_ Ah, Gaara could remember the trademark habit of Asuma, a person he had never even spoken to, even if he did get the name wrong.

"Only because it's a special occasion," Shikamaru informed them. A trail of smoke trickled down from his mouth. "I'm smoking to commemorate Asuma-sensei."

Gaara's expression was unreadable. _**-Today is the anniversary of his death-**_

Shikamaru nodded. "Yeah. Hiroshi and Kurenai-sensei plan on visiting the grave with me later. Hiroshi is Asuma and Kurenai's son," he explained to him. Naruto had went with them last year, so he surely could remember the rather cocky boy. People said he was a lot like the Naruto before the war – no, before Sasuke left and Gaara died, despite his efforts to prevent these tragic events. When he had heard people say this, Naruto muttered something that sounded like 'that poor kid…'

_**-I understand-**_

Shikamaru put out his cigarette. "There hasn't been many other deaths after yours. I guess Konoha and Suna are unusually lucky."

_**-Naruto's sensei, Jiraiya… he died facing his own former pupils….- **_Gaara's tone was disbelieving. Shikamaru froze, amazed Gaara had remembered that. The redhead had harbored a soft spot for the blond idiot since after the Chuunin Exam, but the fact that after so many years he could still remember what had happened to Jiraiya correctly was incredible. The Kazekage's voice was sharp. **_-How is that lucky for him and Naruto?-_**

"Considering the losses we could've sustained, we were lucky." Years of war hadn't gone without some rather harsh lessons. Even Naruto, once firm to state the importance of comrades, started to intone the same ideas, even if his eyes rebelled against it.

Dying had spared Gaara of these heartless realizations. _**-There is no 'luck' when people die. Even if one person dies, it is the same. It's a lonely and painful thing, for the living and the deceased, to be apart from each other. Shikamaru, you should both know this very well. The death of a comrade should never be belittled by 'Our comrade died, but we were lucky, all in all…'-**_

Shikamaru stared. He grimaced. "Sakura already has an idea about all this, I suppose."

"Kakashi and her are both well aware of Gaara's situation," Naruto answered. "I was going to meet with them after crashing for a while."

"So that's why you made sure to see her, so she could tell Kakashi-sama ahead of time that you came back with the Kazekage." It made sense to Shikamaru, though it had been a desperately flawed plan in the strategist's eyes. Naruto's mission in general was top secret, but it had leaked that it was sent from Sunagakure, a hot button among the former Konoha eleven rookies as it was in Suna that one of their allies – and former enemies – became Kazekage, only to vanish off the face of the earth, a mystery that even now was brought up again and again. This meant that keeping silent about it was nearly impossible and a top secret mission became a source of speculation. The lack of secrecy around it was compounded by the fact that for all Naruto's cheerful act, he couldn't stop Sakura from looking bothered or himself from looking much the same. He hadn't even bothered to meet up with Sakura alone, nor to make sure Shikamaru, who rarely missed anything, wasn't around when Gaara's sand pooled around his feet to devour his ramen.

It had been the plan of a rookie. Though the blond Jounin was hardly _that_ anymore, he had only gotten his promotion due to his strength and his knowledge of the importance of the mission and the team, not because of any strategy skills.

Shikamaru brushed aside misgivings he hadn't had in nearly a decade toward Naruto's talents. Naruto was still Kakashi's primary heir. "Very well. I'll let you two alone for now."

_**-I have to go, Naruto. They will keep me a week, if I don't leave now. I'll be back tomorrow- **_The sand collapsed and roared through the window to slam into the grass below.

Naruto shrugged. "It happens often. Gaara can't stay here longer than an hour normally. He's probably in trouble for staying longer than a day." He furrowed his brow in concern.

Shikamaru nodded, though he failed to understand what Naruto meant. "I see… I won't keep you. Later."

.

.

Yomi, the land of the dead, hadn't changed much since he had last left it. The screams in the distant south, the peaceful heavenly glow to the even farther north, and the heavy gloom of purgatory situated between them hadn't changed a bit, despite millions of years having passed. Yet, something drastic had changed. He wasn't hanging upside down.

Gaara staggered, unsure how to stand when as a spirit he had only hung from the cavern roof in the afterlife. He never would've though standing would be such a peculiar sensation. He blinked before narrowing his eyes at the spirit before him. "You…"

The Yondaime Kazekage crossed his arms and looked down his nose at the surprised Godaime Kazekage. "Me."

Gaara closed his eyes, swallowing down his rage and disgust toward the man who had ruined his life more thoroughly than even the Akatsuki the day they killed him. "What do you want, Hisoka?"

"Is that any way to talk to your father?" The Yondaime inquired, raising a barely existent eyebrow.

"Since when was sealing a monster in someone and then trying to kill them any way to treat your son?" Gaara answered, coolly.

"Where did you get your strange conceptions of family, Jikininki Gaara? I thought I kept such nonsense away from you. A shinobi has no need of bonds and family. A shinobi is born a tool of the village. We are but the village's property. No more, no less." Hisoka locked eyes with his son.

Gaara wondered to himself why he hadn't seen it before. That anger and wild look in the older spirit's eyes. The eyes of a trapped animal wanting to escape. His words were mechanical, like a mantra he had heard and said throughout his life and had no strength of mind to fight. "Hisoka…"

He cleared his mind of any sympathy for the man. Hisoka had been a monster who wanted his six-year-old son dead for having powers he couldn't control. Powers that he had forced the child to carry without his consent. A man like that would be given no pity by the same son.

"What is it you wish to tell me, jii-san?" Though he had been grieved more than Kankuro and Temari when the man died, he had quickly learned after death that Hisoka would never accept him. He had little patience for the stubborn man now that they were both stuck in the same plane of eternity.

Hisoka narrowed his eyes, but kept his cool. "Nothing. I was just saying a friendly hello. You are too distrusting."

"… I'm not the one who sent assassins after a child. Why am I free and what do you have to do with it?"

"It's simple." Hisoka's voice sounded amused, but his lips and eyes weren't smiling. "I had a chat with Enma-sama about letting you roam the afterlife free. After all, 'It' is going to happen even if you are free like the rest of us. I felt like being benevolent." There it was. A faint, devious upward curl of the lips

Gaara crossed his arms. "You haven't entertained a benevolent thought toward me your whole life. Why should you now?"

Hisoka gave him a long silent look. He blinked slowly and answered, nonchalantly with a grim smile, "Because you were my greatest failure."

* * *

**A/N: I did not expect the Yondaime Kazekage to pop in. Honestly, that was a great twist. Completely unexpected. Unfortunately, I named the chapter _before _writing it and had to re-name it to fit the actual content, so the past chapter's 'Next' section is wrong (and the pairing thing needs to be removed too, as nothing was confirmed in that chapter either)**

**Terms:**

_Pater _- father

**The "Next" section is from henceforth removed because it is a pain to edit every chapter each time a chapter title changes.  
**


	5. Inter Nos

**A/N: I haven't updated since November! Can you believe it? I feel so bad for taking so long... Of course, I've taken longer than seven months to update before. No Naruto or Gaara in this chapter, sorry. Just some Sand-nin. ****I can hear you groaning in the future through my computer screen, but it's a necessary chapter. **

**These are _not _OCs, except for Fukai and Nabe (and the mentioned Akari). Sari, Tsuchino, Tomari, Kashike, and Abiru are all named characters from the canon universe, though very minor and I had to flesh them out some.  
**

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**Chapter Five: _Inter Nos _**

"Oi, Tsuchino-san, are you sure this is okay?" Grumbled the bushy haired chuunin hunched down on a tree branch. He cast a sidelong look toward the young man crouching beside him before turning his gaze back out into the quiet forest. "Ibaraki should have sent a message over an hour ago. Shouldn't we go and make sure nothing happened?"

"Heh." The dark-eyed young man stood up. He flexed his hand and a cane dropped from his long sleeve. "I'm sure he's just being an ornery old man as always."

"But Sabaku no Gaara…"

Above them, a beady eyed boy lacking a semblance of eyebrows muttered from where he sat crouched on a the thick branch above them, "On about that again? Really, Kashike, we aren't Academy students any more. You're too paranoid. Gaara hasn't done anything terrible in years."

Kashike muttered darkly, "Give him another year or two."

"Eh? What's that supposed to mean?" The curly haired young man standing upside down beneath him asked. He reached up and grabbed the other's ankles, chanting childishly, "Tell me! Tell me!"

"Ah! Abiru-kun, let go! What are you trying to do, idiot?" Stumbling, Kashike reached down and pulled the curly haired man's cheeks. "Cut it out!"

Abiru whined, "Tsuchino, Kashike's being stingy!"

Sweat dripped down Tsuchino's forehead with the effort of staying calm. He twitched, listening to the two idiots above him bicker like two brats. He finally snapped out, "Be quiet!"

Kashike and Abiru froze. "Tsuchino…?" Inquired the boy who had refused to involve himself.

Tsuchino jumped down from the trees, landing on the palms of his hands and rolling into a standing position lightly. The cane struck the ground, causing gravel and leaves to jump, and he limped down the trail like it was no one's business. "There's no point in waiting for that moron's message. We will have to see about finding Kazekage-sama and the blond Leaf-ninja ourselves."

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The brown eyed young woman of about twenty stared down at the two resting shinobi. She had been tracking them for three days, since she overheard Akari-sama's orders to find the Kazekage and Leaf Jounin.

_["Whatever you do, do not engage the Leaf ninja. Find the Jikininki and report back immediately to Seal expert Kuroda."_

_Ibaraki gave a curt nod. "Yes sir." He ordered the three Genin beside him, "Let's go!"_

_He sprang from the roof and vanished into the distance.]_

The girl pushed her bangs up as she pondered what to do. It seemed they hadn't noticed her yet. She murmured a silent thanks to Temari-sensei, drawing back as the two young men quietly argued what they should do next.

"We should've taken a left back at the creek, I'm telling you!" The taller Chuunin with the long black braid grumbled, blinking gray eyes as he cocked his head from side to side as though listening intently. The girl stiffened. Had he detected her?

"And I'm telling you it's fine, Fukai. The trail is just a little sparse," answered the other man, lips curled up into an unpleasant tooth-bearing grin across his ratty face. His watery blue eyes cocked up at the crouching Genin in the trees.

_Shi–!_ The kunoichi threw herself down on the branch, a torrent of kunai whizzing over her head. Strands of long hair drifted to the ground. Cursing her carelessness, she jumped down into the brush and jerked her head toward the two Chuunin.

"My, my… It's only Sari," the grinning man exclaimed, strained smile widening.

Fukai took a looming step forward, scowling above his short comrade. "Nabe-kun, do you think she…"

The sound of a kunai hitting a thick object and the hiss of falling sand answered him. Sari narrowed her eyes. Damn it, she had underestimated them.

"I think we've found the end of the strail." Nabe smirked.

Sari whipped a kunai from her pack. "What do you intend to do to Gaara-sama?"

Fukai rumbled from behind her, "That's none of your concern, Sari-chan."

Sari spun around to stare up at the giant fist rushing down at her. She leaped aside. The earth rippled as Fukai made contact with the ground. Dust billowed around the large Chuunin. _Too close…_ Sweat dripped down Sari's brow as she skidded to a halt. She looked up at him, heaving. Fukai smirked.

The earth hummed beneath the younger Chuunin's feet. She darted her eyes at Nabe, who stood with the seal of the Dragon. A powerful force slammed down over her head. She stumbled to her knees with a yell and clutched the back of her head, feeling blood. A high pitched hiss announced the drain of air within her invisible prison and soon she was gasping for air, clutching at her collar in a futile attempt to help her airflow. It was as if even the air in her lungs was being dragged out. Was this Nabe's Breath Extraction Seal she had heard rumors of?

The ground wobbled beneath her. Wheezing, she dropped to her hands and knees, willing it to stay still. Succumbing to the lack of oxygen, she rolled her eyes up at the two Chuunin watching her suffocate. The last thing she saw before darkness over took her was Nabe's crooked smile.

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"Huh? Isn't that Sari?" Kashike frowned and shielded his eyes with a hand. "What does she think she's doing?"

Fukai barely missed crushing the woman under his fist. Sari leaped away, skidding across the clearing. Tsuchino frowned. "Whatever it is, she's in serious trouble fighting those two… Let's go!"

Abiru and Tomari grunted in brisk agreement and the four boys shot forward at the enemy. Nabe made a seal and Sari suddenly stumbled and clutched at her throat. Tsuchino's eyes widened. _This is bad!_ The woman stumbled onto her hands and knees before lying still in a heap.

Abiru's fist connected with Nabe's jaw, breaking the older Chuunin's concentration and sending him reeling back. Kashike rolled Sari over and pressed two fingers against her throat. Leaving the CPR to the team's medic, Tsuchino hobbled in front of the unconscious girl and the two Chuunin. "Why did you attack Sari?"

Fukai replied in his low growl, "She was hindering our mission to retrieve Kazekage-sama."

Sari coughed and gasped raggedly for air behind the dark-haired young man. Tomari frowned, stepping forward to stand beside his team leader. "There was no need to do that to your fellow Suna-nin. We are all worried for Kazekage-sama's safety, but violence won't help us catch up to him and the Leaf ninja any faster."

Nabe grimaced at him, wiping blood from his lips. "Why are you defending that traitor? She's stalling our mission to get Kazekage-sama back."

The awakened Sari protested, "That's a lie!" She staggered to her feet. She clutched her stomach and doubled over. She continued through gritted teeth, "Akari-sama ordered Ibaraki and his men to do something to Gaara-sama!"

Tsuchino looked at her from the corner of his eye. "What?" He spun around, looming over Nabe. "Is this true?"

Nabe spat from the corner of his mouth. "The Kazekage is too dangerous to be allowed to roam freely. Akari-sama gave us orders to seal him."

Tomari narrowed his eyes. "He wants to control Kazekage-sama?"

"No," Nabe corrected him with a chilling crooked smile. "He merely wants to prevent Gaara from destroying the village."

Sari spat, face twisted in a snarl of loathing. "Kazekage-sama would never–!"

"Kazekage wouldn't… Gaara hasn't been even human in years. He's not the Kazekage we knew anymore," Fukai answered, lips twisted in an odd frown. The large sand-nin took one step back that shook the earth and smiled.

Tsuchino realized too late. "Look out!"

The six ninjas sprang into the trees as the ground crumbled, leaving behind a deep pit. Sari screamed and clawed at the collapsing earth as the ground beneath her gave away before she could jump to safety, slipping down into the ravine. A hand seized her by the shirt and dragged her into the temporary sanctuary of a low hanging branches.

The solemn faced Tomari asked, "You alright?"

Sari nodded shakily, unable to look away from the widening pit. "I… I think so…" She looked up to glare across the trees to their opponents.

Abiru scowled at Fukai and Nabe who smiled wordlessly at them. "If I can manage to use _Kiiro Ka–!_"

He didn't get a chance to finish. The tree the five ninjas stood on jolted and bent toward the hole with a groan, sinking toward the abyss. They darted out of harm's way, driven further back from their opponents out of necessity. They no sooner landed on a second tree when it too began to collapse.

Tsuchino made a sound of annoyance through his teeth before rushing to the next tree, team-mates and kunoichi on his tail. It would be quicker to simply return to the dubious ground and flee before it had a chance to give way, but that would leave them open and unable to keep an eye on the enemy, who would have the added advantage of being on higher ground.

Even though he could still see Fukai and Nabe in the corner of his eye, now shrinking as they fell further and further back, he knew the battle had been lost, unable to close the widening distance between them. His team and Sari could only watch as, satisfied with their victory, Akari's men made their escape.

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**A/N: The plot thickens even more! Gaara and Naruto should return in the next chapter, and hopefully Matsuri and Ittetsu will at least get a mention.**** Just so you know that I'm not getting sidetracked with the idea of possible GaaMatsu/GaaSari love, e****ven though Sari and Matsuri will both have fairly decent sized parts in this story (along with a LOT of other characters), I have no intention on putting either of them with Gaara.  
**

**Terms:**

_Inter Nos_ - Between Ourselves

_Kiiro Ka-!_ - Yellow Ca-!


End file.
